Desperate frustration as search for flight MH370 expanded

THE desperate search for a Malaysian jet that vanished with 239 people aboard has been significantly expanded, as frustrations mount over the failure to find any trace of the plane.

The initial zone spread over a 50-nautical mile (92km) radius around the point where Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the South China Sea in the early hours of Saturday morning, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

It's four days since the plane disappeared from radar screens en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 227 passengers and 12 crew.

Malaysian authorities announced they were doubling the size of the search area to 100 nautical miles.

"The area of search has been expanded in the South China Sea," Civil Aviation Department chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told reporters.

He also confirmed the area now covers land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast and an area to the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The vast stretch under consideration reflects authorities' bafflement over the disappearance of the aircraft, with 40 ships and more than 30 planes finding no sign of it.

UPDATE 5.55AM: Officials confronting the "unprecedented mystery" of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are to extend the area of their search after a day filled with reports of possible sightings of debris from the aircraft ended with nothing but more frustration.

Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority, said both an oil slick and a yellow object initially thought to be a life raft, had proved to have no link to the aircraft.

"Unfortunately we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft," he said.

"As far as we are concerned, we have to find the aircraft. We have to find a piece of the aircraft if possible."

Mr Rahman did confirm that investigators poring over CCTV footage of two passengers who boarded the flight using stolen European passports had concluded they were "not Asian-looking men". Earlier, another official had said one of the men was not Malaysian.

When asked to give a rough description of the passengers, he referred to Mario Balotelli, the black Italian footballer who previously played for Manchester City and who is currently a member of the Milan team. When the name was put to Mr Rahman, he replied: "Balotelli, yes". On Sunday, officials appeared to be focusing their attention on up to four passengers who had boarded the Beijing-bound flight, including the passengers using stolen Austrian and Italian passports.

Mr Rahman said an examination of the CCTV showed the two men had fully complied with security protocols and that their hand baggage had been checked.

He said investigations were continuing, with the help of the intelligence agencies of other countries. "There is the possibility of a stolen passport syndicate," he said.

It appears the tickets for the passengers who travelled on stolen passports were purchased from a travel agent in Pattaya, apparently by an Iranian middleman.

Mr Rahman said the search area would be extended by a 100km (62 mile) radius. Aircraft and ships from 10 countries are currently scouring the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam for a trace of the Boeing 777 which went missing with 227 passengers and 12 crew.

The final minutes before the aircraft's disappearance remain a mystery. The aircraft lost contact with ground controllers somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam.

Families of those missing have suffered an agonising wait. A number of relatives of the passengers claimed yesterday that they had called mobile phones of their missing loved ones and they had rang out, according to Chinese media.

"If I could get through, the police could locate the position, and there's a chance he could still be alive," Bian Liangwei, the sister of one of the passengers, told the local press. A number of relatives passed on the phone numbers to authorities, but a Malaysian Airlines spokesman later said the company had tried one of the numbers given to them, but had failed to get through.

Malaysian military officials said on Sunday that the aircraft may have turned back from its scheduled route shortly before vanishing from radar screens.

With so little progress being made and with nothing to tell the relatives of the passengers who boarded the plane, Malaysia has been criticised for the pace at which it has been working.

A total of 153 passengers on the aircraft were Chinese and in what may have been an attempt to play the blame game, China yesterday accused Malaysia of failing to provide sufficient information.

Among the passengers was Philip Wood, 51, from Texas. "I know in my heart that Philip's with God," his mother Sandra Wood was quoted as saying by USA Today.

- The Independent

UPDATE 4.30PM: A VIETNAMESE official says searchers on ships worked throughout the night but could not find a rectangle object spotted Sunday afternoon that was thought to be one of the doors of a missing Boeing 777.

Doan Huu Gia, the chief of search and rescue coordination center, said Monday that six planes and seven ships from Vietnam were searching for the object but nothing had been found.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing early Saturday morning on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The plane lost contact with ground controllers somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam, and searchers in a low-flying plane spotted an object that appeared to be one of the plane's doors, the state-run Thanh Nien newspaper said.

UPDATE 5.40am: Intelligence agencies from across the world are trying to trace the true identities of two people who used fake passports to board the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, amid growing concerns that terrorists may have hijacked or bombed the flight.

Malaysian officials examining CCTV footage have found images of the pair, the Malaysian Transport Minister said.

Authorities suspecting foul play may be involved continue to look over footage from Kuala Lumpur's international airport and question border guards.

"Early indications show some sort of a security lapse, but I cannot say any further right now," an official with direct knowledge of the investigation told Reuters.

Ground controllers lost contact with flight MH370 as it travelled somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam early Saturday morning.

It had left Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing around two hours earlier carrying 239 people.

Late on Sunday Vietnamese authorities said they had spotted an object that they suspect is one of the plane's doors. A massive international search is yet to find a confirmed trace of the plane however.

The weather was fine, the plane was cruising at high altitude and the pilots send no distress signal before the plane disappeared - very unusual circumstances for a modern jetliner operated by a professional airline to crash, but that experts say would be consistent with an on board explosion.

Foreign ministries in Italy and Austria said the two identities on the passenger list matched two passports reported stolen in Thailand from citizens of the countries. The pair using the passports appear to have bought the tickets together.

Interpol has criticised boarder controls for having not checked the passports - that were stolen in 2012 and 2013 - against their database.

Authorities are now looking at two more possible cases of suspicious identities, the Malaysian Transport Minister said, adding that Malaysian intelligence agencies were in contact with international counterparts. He gave no more details.

Adding to speculation, Malaysian military radar indicates the missing plane turned back on itself shortly before vanishing.

Air force chief Rodzali Daud told a media conference: "The military radar indicated that the aircraft may have made a turn back and in some parts, this was corroborated by civilian radar."

Pilots are supposed to inform the airline and traffic control authorities if a plane does a U-turn, Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya added. "From what we have, there was no such distress signal or distress call per se, so we are equally puzzled," he said.

The recent developments further strengthened concerns that terrorism could be the cause of the disappearance, aviation and terrorism experts said.

UPDATE 6.00PM: A TOTAL of four people aboard a missing Malaysian Airlines flight are being investigated by the country with the government now calling in the American FBI and others to help.

Two passenger names were under suspicion after it was found they were travelling on stolen passports, now a further two are under scrutiny.

As of late Sunday, there was still no sign of the Boeing 777-200 that disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Saturday.

International media reported the country's transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed the names were now being checked by counter-terrorism experts.

Oil slicks have been spotted off the coast of southern Vietnam, leading to optimism for search and rescue teams that it could lead them to the plane.

No wreckage had been located at the time of deadline.

Six Australians are believed to be on the flight, including four from Queensland and two from New South Wales.

UPDATE 10.49AM: Malaysia Airlines has released a passenger manifest that has named four Queenslanders among those aboard the missing flight.

Mary and Rodney Burrows, Catherine and Robert Lawton, and Gu Naijun and Li Yuan were listed on the passenger manifest.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have been in communication with the families.

UPDATE 5.00pm: The Australian Government has so far confirmed the names of six Australians on the passenger manifest of the Malaysia Airlines flight lost on its way to Beijing.

Reports from the Vietnamese Navy say that the Boeing 777-200 crashed into the Gulf of Thailand.

A News Ltd report claims that four of the passengers are from Queensland - a couple from Brisbane and a couple from Springfield Lakes in Ipswich.

It is understood a couple from Sydney were also on board the flight.

Australian consular officials are in contact with family members living in Australia of those believed to be on the flight and will continue to provide the families with all possible consular assistance.

Australian consular officials are in urgent and ongoing contact with Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines has advised that it is contacting relatives of the passengers on the flight.

The airline has established a call centre - phone +60 37884 1234 - for those seeking more information.

UPDATE 3.56pm: News Ltd is reporting that six or seven Australians were passengers aboard the lost flight.

Yahoo News has reported unconfirmed claims that the flight was seen going down into the ocean off the Vietnamese/Cambodian border.

EARLIER: A Malaysia Airlines flight headed for Beijing went missing this morning after air traffic control lost all contact with the aircraft.

Subang Air Traffic Control reported that it lost contact at 2.40am (local Malaysia time) today.

The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew - comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members. The passengers were of 13 different nationalities.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," the airline said on its Facebook page.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew.

"[The] Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support."

The Australian Government fears the worst for those aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. We have so far confirmed the names of six Australians on the flight's passenger manifest.

Australian consular officials are in contact with family members living in Australia of those believed to be on the flight and will continue to provide the families with all possible consular assistance.

Australian consular officials are in urgent and ongoing contact with Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines has advised that it is contacting relatives of the passengers on the flight.

The airline has established a call centre - phone +60 37884 1234 - for those seeking more information.